North American clubs eye Japanese pitcher Maeda

NEW YORK: Major League Baseball clubs are looking at making deals for Japanese star pitcher Kenta Maeda with the Japan League’s Hiroshima Carp planning to make the 27-year-old right-hander available. The major league website said the Central League Carp will post right-hander Maeda, who has pitched for Hiroshima since 2008, going 97-67 with a 2.39 earned-run average. He went 15-8 last season with a 2.09 earned-run average over 29 starts to claim his second Sawamura Award as top pitcher, his first having come in 2010.